Tropical Storm Chantal (1995)
Tropical Storm Chantal was the third named storm of the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season. Chantal formed on July 13 well to the east of the Leeward Islands. Chantal moved west-northwest, then north, and then recurved northeast and out to sea. Chantal dissipated on July 22. Chantal caused no damage and no deaths. Tropical Storm Chantal on July 17 https://archive.is/20131014012312/img219.imageshack.us/img219/6775/tropicalstormchantalim0.png Formation July 13, 1995 Dissipation July 22, 1995 Highest winds 70 mph Lowest pressure 991 mbar Deaths None reported Damages None Areas affected None Part of the 1995 Atlantic hurricane season Meteorological history https://archive.is/20131014012205/img352.imageshack.us/img352/393/chantaltrackxg8.png Chantal's origins appear to be associated with a tropical wave that left the coast of Africa on July 5. The wave soon showed signs of a low-level circulation center. On July 13, satellite imagery as well as an aircraft flight into the system indicated that the wave had strengthened into Tropical Depression Three while located to the east of the Leeward Islands. Despite strong upper-level westerly wind shear, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Chantal on July 14 while located a little over 200 miles north-northeast of Puerto Rico. On July 15, Chantal threatened the southeastern and central portion of the Bahamas as it was moving to the west-northwest. The threat was short-lived, however, as Chantal quickly moved north on July 16 and July 17, sparing the Bahamas a direct impact. It is estimated that Chantal reached its peak intensity of 70 mph on July 17 as it was moving northward between Bermuda and the East Coast of the United States. Although Chantal briefly threatened Bermuda, it turned well to the west of the island on July 18. Chantal then accelerated to the northeast across the North Atlantic shipping lanes where it became extratropical on July 20. Preparations 'Bahamas' The government of the Bahamas issued a Tropical Storm Warning for the southeastern Bahamas as well as the Turks and Caicos Islands. In addition, a Tropical Storm Watch was issued for the central Bahamas. All of these watches and warnings were issued at 1600 UTC July 15. At 1200 UTC July 16, the warning was discontinued, as was the watch three hours later. While tropical storm conditions did not materialize for the Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center official track forecasts on the 15th did bring the center of the storm within about 150 n mi to the north of these islands. 'Bermuda' At 0300 UTC July 16, the government of Bermuda issued a Tropical Storm Watch. The watch was discontinued at 1500 UTC July 18 as Chantal moved well west of the island. Lack of Retirement Because there was no damage, the name Chantal was not retired in the Spring of 1996 by the World Meteorological Organization. It was used again during the 2001 Atlantic hurricane season, and used during the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season, and is on the list of names to be used for the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season. See Also 1995 Atlantic hurricane season * NHC Chantal report *NHC Advisory Archives on Chantal References http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1995chantal.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Atlantic_hurricane_season#Tropical_Storm_Chantal